Spread out in the Seymour High School student parking lot Monday afternoon, 52 members of the senior class added a splash of color to the pavement.

Once they selected a spot, some chose to outline words or designs with chalk before painting. Others went straight into using paint, brushes and rollers to create their work of art.

Each senior’s personality or interests now can be determined by looking at the spots.

The artwork also holds a deeper meaning, as the seniors knew by participating that they were helping a good cause.

[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]

Click here to purchase photos from this gallery

The $30 they paid will go toward the school’s Riley Dance Marathon fundraising efforts, which benefit Riley Children’s Foundation to help patients who receive treatment at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis.

Seymour’s fourth annual Dance Marathon is set for Nov. 18 in the high school gymnasium. Painting the parking spots is the first of a handful of fundraisers planned leading up to the event.

Trent Hohenstreiter, president of the Dance Marathon committee, said they wanted to do the fundraiser last year, but it didn’t work out until this year after receiving approval from administration and the school board.

“They were all on board, and they thought it was a really cool idea because it is going to spice up the parking lot and make it look a lot neater,” he said. “It’s some school spirit a little bit, I think, too.”

He said he knew of other schools around the state that painted parking spots, and the committee thought it would be a fun senior project and a great way to raise money for a good cause.

“We thought about juniors and seniors, which gave for the opportunity to make more money,” he said. “We thought it would also be cool to be a senior thing, like once you become a senior, you get to do this, and it kind of makes it a little bit more special. I was on board with either. I just left it up to the people around me and their thoughts, and it came down to where it was just seniors.”

Principal Greg Prange and Assistant Principal Talmadge Reasoner helped spread the word to the senior class, sharing the rules and inviting them to participate.

Hohenstreiter said information also was spread by word of mouth and the Dance Marathon Facebook and Twitter pages.

“I was expecting about 30, so I’m very happy with the turnout. I couldn’t really ask for more,” he said. “For some, $30 can be quite a bit, and they want to come out and do it for a good cause. I’m glad they came out and did it. It makes me happy to be out here and see all of this.”

Seniors could paint any time between 1 and 7 p.m. Monday. Spots were available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

“It gives a little way for someone to show themselves, their artistic ability and just something that represents them best — whatever is personal to them, whatever means the most to them, whatever they want to do,” Hohenstreiter said.

Having participated in cross-country and track and field during his high school career, Hohenstreiter chose those sports as the theme for his spot over a purple background.

A row over from his spot, senior Hannah Smith decided to go with a music theme since she has been in band since sixth grade.

First, she painted the background light blue, which is her favorite color. Then she added a string of music notes and her name.

“I enjoy band a lot,” said Smith, who is doing work-based learning teaching band at the Seymour Middle School Sixth Grade Center.

She received help from her sister, freshman Ryah Smith, and her parents in the painting project.

She said she hopes the school continues the fundraiser every year.

“I think it’s really cool that they decided to let us do this, especially since it’s my senior year,” she said. “I’m glad they chose this year to start it so I can be involved.”

Like Hohenstreiter, seniors Brendan McCartney, Zech Newton and Elliott Clark chose to show their favorite sports.

McCartney painted a brown background and added football laces and his jersey number, 82. Football is a livelihood for the McCartney family, as Brendan has played for 10 years and his father, Ryan, coached at Seymour until moving to Salem this year.

“I thought it was a pretty cool idea of seniors painting their spots,” Brendan said. “I think it’s going to be fun when you drive by and the lot is empty and you just see all of the pictures.”

Newton’s parking spot looks like a purple wrestling mat and has “No magic” across the top and “Just hard work” across the bottom. He has participated in wrestling since middle school.

He said he showed up about an hour early Monday to secure his spot.

“I would have paid the money just to have the spot in the first place, but since it’s going to an actual good cause, that’s even better,” Newton said. “I’m glad it’s just seniors because it gives people something to look forward to when they are in their senior year, like, ‘Yes, I get to have my own spot to paint.'”

Clark is the goalkeeper for the soccer team, so he included an image of a goalie making a save. At the bottom, he put his last name and his jersey number, 1.

Since he has played soccer for 12 years, Clark said he was happy to be able to tie that into the painting project.

“It just expresses who you are or what you do,” he said.

He admitted he initially wasn’t sure about participating, but once he and his parents finished painting, he was glad he did it.

“I was like, ‘You know? It’s my last year. Let’s just do something fun, support a good cause, too,'” he said. “I feel a lot better now that I chose to do it. Thirty dollars is going to a great cause, too. You know where the money is going.”

Newton and Clark both said they have attended Dance Marathon in recent years, while McCartney said he has never gone but has made donations.

“You just get to go out and have fun while helping somebody,” Newton said.

“It’s always a fun time,” Clark said. “There’s a bunch of activities you can do, and then at the end always making a profit toward a great cause.”

The next Dance Marathon fundraiser is a blacklight dance Sept. 15 following the football homecoming game against Bedford North Lawrence. It will be in the high school commons.

Hohenstreiter said they hope to do a dodgeball tournament on the football field Sept. 22 after the Jackson Bowl game against Brownstown Central.

Also at both of those games, buckets will be passed around the stands to collect donations from fans.

The committee also will be visiting local businesses soon to gain sponsorships for Dance Marathon. This year, there are incentives for the different levels: $25, recognition on social media; $50, business name on T-shirt; $100; business logo on T-shirt; $250, business banner at event; and $500, business advertisement at the end of a lip dub video.

From the second level up, the business will receive all of the incentives from the lower levels.

Hohenstreiter said they plan to film the lip dub video sometime in October or November to help promote Dance Marathon. The school last did a lip dub video in 2012.

“Since the last one got thousands and thousands of views, we think that that’s a good incentive to do that,” he said.

Each year, the Dance Marathon committee has exceeded its goal. The goal was $3,000 the first year and was $7,500 last year.

Since they raised $9,104.95 in 2016, they have set their goal at $15,000 for this year.

“We doubled our goal this year, but we think we’re going to be right around it. We’re on pace for it, and we think that we’re going to get it,” Hohenstreiter said. “We set that goal just to push us throughout the year to try to stay on track and keep an eye on the prize and see what we want. I just want to thank the community for always being behind us and helping us throughout the way and helping us reach our goals.”

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Seymour High School’s fourth annual Riley Dance Marathon is Nov. 18 in the Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium.

There are a few ways to help with fundraising efforts leading up to the event.

A blacklight dance is Sept. 15 in the high school commons following the football homecoming game against Bedford North Lawrence.

There are plans for a dodgeball tournament on the football field Sept. 22 after the Jackson Bowl game against Brownstown Central.

Also at both of those games, buckets will be passed around the stands to collect donations from fans.

The committee also will be visiting local businesses soon to gain sponsorships. The levels and incentives are $25, recognition on social media; $50, business name on T-shirt; $100; business logo on T-shirt; $250, business banner at event; and $500, business advertisement at the end of a lip dub video. From the second level up, the business will receive all of the incentives from the lower levels.

Donations also may be made by calling 812-522-4384, emailing [email protected] or sending a message through the Seymour High School Dance Marathon Facebook page.

[sc:pullout-text-end]